Koni sa, strano springs, ss brake lines, brembo rotors, hawk pads install + my review
 

I had this write up on my computer and figured I would post it in case any one was looking into any of these parts. This was done about a month ago. Changes have been made in bold

Yesterday I spent the day installing my koni sa's(I got the 4th gen fronts and 3rd gen rears), strano springs, earl's stainless brake lines, brembo blank rotors and hawk hps pads(front and rear), [B]UMI adjustable panhard bar and lca's[B/]. I got the Koni's, springs, and rotors from Strano and the slp lid, k&n filter, brake lines, and hawk pads from ws6store. I also painted the rotors and my caliper brackets silver to set it off from the black. I came away with all my fingers and toes and got only 1 cut, so I would consider that pretty successful.

Install of the shocks and springs went fairly easy. Both of the front shock nuts were rusted as all get out, so I had to cut and chisel both of them off. I loaded that plastic strut mount with lithium grease so it shouldn't happen again. The strano shocks were quite a bit shorter than my eibach prokit but provided a taller ride height. With the prokit my measurements from the floor to the center of the wheel well were RF=25 3/4", LF=26", RR=26 1/8", LR=27 3/16". With the Strano springs they measured RF=26 1/4", LF=26 1/4, RR=26 3/4", LR=27 3/4". I think the reason my LR and RR measurements are an inch off before and after is because the car has been in a wreck where the frame was twisted.

As for how the shocks and springs ride and perform, it's 10x better. I had the prokit with stock decarbons shocks. I could have swore that I put on the bilstein hd's from my '01 Z on there before I sold it. I found out other wise yesterday though. That would really explain why my ride was so bad. The ride was harsh and just wasn't solid at all. With the koni sa's and strano springs it's so much better. I set the fronts at 5 1/2 sweeps from full hard. I set the rears at full soft. I went out driving this morning on a pretty rough road that you can get some speed on. You can feel the bumps but instead of your teeth fillings coming out, the car just soaks them up. It is so much smoother. I really could not believe how much of a difference it made. It stays glued to the road. With the old set up, if you were going around a corner and hit a bump the car would really wander in the rear end. It was a real problem. Now, it's all but gone. I can confidently take certain curves now that used to I would have to slow down. Body roll has decreased significantly also. It's a whole new car. I plan on getting an adjustable panhard bar next month to hopefully nip it in the bud completely. I just installed a UMI adjustable panhard bar this past weekend and has improved the handling even more. I was also able to center the axle. I also installed some UMI adjustable LCA's this past weekend also. My rear toe was out a little bit causing the car to pull to the right. By adjusting the lca's I got that taken care of and the car now goes in a straight line, woohoo.

Installation of the brake lines was a real pain in the butt. I didn't have a line wrench which probably didn't help any. If you ever do the brake lines, GO BUY A BRAKE LINE WRENCH. You'll save yourself a lot of aggravation. Those brake line connections were ridiculously tight on my car.

As for the brakes performance, I think it is the best investment I have made on the car. I don't have exact numbers, but I did stopping test with my stock equipment and then today with the new parts. It's a night and day difference. It brakes so much harder. You can really feel it. I did some 50-0 stops this morning and it made me all giggly. The pedal feel is better to. It actually feels like you're pushing against something. The brake lines and pads for front and rear was only $229. That is a cheap safety upgrade for a very big difference. I would recommend at least the stainless brake lines and hawk hps pads for anyones next mod. It's well worth it. Also, I used Valvoline synpower brake fluid and did my best to flush the system.

If there is any questions about anything let me know.

Now for some pics.

ALL THE GOODIES

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BEFORE, I KNOW CRAPPY SHOT

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AFTER, I KNOW ANOTHER CRAPPY SHOT

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BEFORE

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AFTER. AND YES I MEANT TO OVERSPRAY THE PAINT

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BEFORE

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AFTER

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IN THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE. IT GOT MUCH WORSE

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very nice

yea I just did my car too, alot better, looks awesome, do the brembo's make a diff, looks like just an OEM replacement.

They are just oem replacement. I wanted to stick with the blanks. I wanted drilled and slotted for the looks but I hear to much about them cracking over time and they make more dust also.

yea, My car warpes rotors on the front, thats why I went drill/slotted and it fixed the prob, dont know If i had a lemon on warping stock rotors but it did several times. so ended up working for the best, probab ly had those first set of drilled and slotted rotors for a few years, just that they had lots of rust...I think you should have left your rotor centers chrome instead of silver. Il take pics of the old drilled/slotted rotors, they look gross.

That looks really nice!

looks awsome